Cold-chain freight (revision 3)
Old revision·17:21, 3 Nov 2024·CustomsClarke
| Cold-chain freight | |
|---|---|
| Passive systems | Insulation plus phase-change material |
| Active systems | Powered refrigeration |
| Evidence of performance | A temperature record, not a cold pack |
| Topic infobox · conventions | |
Cold-chain freight is transport under controlled temperature. For peptides it is used to limit the degradation routes — deamidation, oxidation, aggregation — whose rates rise with temperature, and its performance is a matter of record rather than of appearance.[1]
A passive shipper is insulation plus a phase-change material, designed to hold a temperature range for a stated duration under a stated ambient profile. It does not hold indefinitely, and a shipment that takes longer than the design duration is outside the qualification whatever the pack looks like on arrival.[2]
Passive and active systems
[edit]Passive shippers are qualified by testing against defined ambient profiles: a summer profile, a winter profile, and a duration. Qualification states what the system will do under those conditions, and nothing about what it will do outside them.[2]
The coolant matters. Gel packs conditioned to refrigerator temperature hold a chilled range; frozen packs can take contents below the intended range, and freezing is a distinct hazard for a solution. Phase-change materials formulated to melt at the target temperature avoid both extremes.